China's out-of-control space station Tiangong-1 made a spectacular re-entry into Earth's atmosphere before disintegrating over the Pacific Ocean.

The spacecraft - whose name translates as 'Heavenly Palace' - arrived at 17,000mph and burned up before parts crash landed near Tahiti.

It is not yet known if any pieces of debris have been found.

The US Joint Force Space Component Command (JFSCC) said Tiangong-1 "reentered the Earth’s atmosphere over the southern Pacific Ocean at approximately 5.16pm (PST) on April 1."

The JFSCC used the Space Surveillance Network sensors and their orbital analysis to confirm Tiangong-1’s reentry.

An artist's illustration of the station as it breaks apart and burns up

The JFSCC also confirmed reentry through coordination with counterparts in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom.

“The JFSCC works alongside government, industry and international partners to track report reentries because the space woman is vital to our shared international interests,” said Maj Gen. Stephen Whiting, Deputy Commander, JFSCC.

“One of our missions, which we remain focussed on, is to monitor space and the tens of thousands of pieces of debris that congest it, while at the same time working with allies and partners to enhance spaceflight safety and increase transparency in the space domain.”

Much of the 34-ft long, 8.5-tonne module is expected to have burned up upon re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, with experts predicting any surviving components such as tanks will land in the sea.

But there's a slight risk fragments of the space laboratory could hit a populated area.

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More than 5bn people live within the re-entry zone - between 43 degrees north and south of the equator - but most of that area is ocean.

China has lost communication with the spacecraft and is unable to control its descent, but has said it's unlikely that any large pieces will reach the ground.

The station was launched in 2011 to carry out docking and orbit experiments under China's ambitious space programme, and was visited by six astronauts.

A sighting of the space laboratory from Reunion island on Saturday (Image: www.alamy.com)

A chart showing the predicted re-entry window

The spacecraft is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere early Monday (Image: REX/Shutterstock)

Tiangong-1's rapid descent is shown in this chart

It was initially supposed to be taken out of service in 2013, but its mission was repeatedly extended.

China's Manned Space Agency had announced the Tiangong-1 would crash to Earth in late 2017, but that process was delayed, leading to speculation that the space laboratory was out of control.

The spacecraft was being tracked by space agencies around the world as it plummets towards Earth.

Richard Crowther, the UK Space Agency's chief engineer, told the BBC: "Given Tiangong-1 has a larger mass and is more robust, as it is pressurised, than many other space objects that return uncontrolled to Earth from space, it is the subject of a number of radar tracking campaigns.

"The majority of the module can be expected to burn up during re-entry heating, with the greatest probability being that any surviving fragments will fall into the sea."